2014 Volume 87 Issue 3 Pages 205-223
Based on the seasonal changes in the feeding behavior of brown bears, the aim of this study was to clarify the human factors in the appearance of brown bears in villages by analyzing the environment of the villages where brown bears frequently appear and the human activities that form the environment. The town of Biratori in Hokkaido was selected as the study area because in recent years the deer habitat has been expanding in the area. In this paper, the appearance of brown bears is considered to be a type of damage that causes several problems due to their direct contact with humans. For example, brown bears damage crops and leave indirect indicators of their presence such as footprints and scratches on trees.
The research method consisted of three steps. First, data on the appearance of brown bears which were reported to the Biratori municipal office, agricultural activities, and deer hunting by interviewing hunters were collected. Second, the seasonal pattern of brown bear appearances and their relationships to land use patterns were analyzed. Third, the seasonality of human activities, such as agricultural activities and deer hunting, were analyzed.
Through data collection and analysis, it was discovered that the carcasses of hunted deer are mainly buried by hunters at the edges of farmland or in forests near farmland. Abandoned farmland and shrubs make it difficult to exterminate the deer. Sometimes killed deer cannot be reached by hunters because they are covered by dense shrub. In addition, farmland used to grow dent corn (Zea mays var. indentata, also known as field corn) are subject to more serious damage by brown bears than farmland used to grow other crops, because it is distant from residential areas and mostly near forested areas. The farms that grow dent corn in Biratori specialize in dairying and livestock breeding and are located away from residential areas because of livestock odors and the vast area of land they require.
As a consequence, the main human factors in the appearance of brown bears in villages are as follows: 1) Brown bears obtain carcasses of hunted deer as food at the edges of farmland, in forests near farmland, and in dense shrub areas from spring to early summer. 2) Brown bears can easily eat dent corn in fields located away from residential areas and near forests from late summer until the harvest season in autumn.
Geographical Review of Japa,. Ser. A, Chirigaku Hyoron
